Escape the Heat and Fire

The worst fire season in California history sent thousands like me fleeing to see relatives and friends in Oregon looking for clean air and cooler temperatures. Disappointment drifted around our plane as we flew into Portland International Airport. The air quality in Portland looked nearly as smoky as it did at home near the Sequoia National Park.

Rough Fire near Fresno

Visit the Oregon Coast

Temperatures reaching nearly one hundred degrees in the Pacific Northwest dried grasses along the freeway and turned the surrounding hillsides brown. Traffic thinned by the time we passed Salem, Oregon and we continued south to the Corvallis exit.

Newport Bridge

A turn to the west took us onto the direct road to Newport, Oregon. As we continued west, grass and trees greened and by the time we reached our destination, we breathed in the fog instead of smoke or dust. We threw open the door and leaned over the patio to enjoy the bay view.

Embarcadero Resort, Newport, Oregon

We stayed close to our hotel, The Embarcadero Resort because we could walk to everything we needed in the Historic Bayfront District.

Embarcadero Resort

The unit came with a separate bedroom, one bath, living area, dining area and a full kitchen for $120 per night. The bedroom comes with a king sized bed and the living room has a queen size pullout bed, which is less comfortable. The view makes up for it.

My brother grabbed the binoculars every time a ship motored by the window.

Embarcadero Resort Room 252

This morning we awoke to more fog. Donning our coats we walked into Historic Bayfront for breakfast across from Ripley’s Believe It or Not.

Breakfast Cafe in Historic Bayfront, Newport

Breakfast was more than I could eat, but I couldn’t help sampling it before I took a picture. I give it five stars, but don’t ask me the name today. I’ll tell you in another post, so come back again.

Quaint shops line the road on both sides along with a fish processing plant and several restaurants. We ate at Moe’s for dinner two nights in a row to enjoy a beautiful view and delicious, reasonable meals. – two dinners including salmon came to only $23.00.

Lincoln City, OR

Lincoln City, OR beach

We drove to Lincoln City and walked along the shore for a short time. On a gray morning, few people joined us. Not even boats ventured out in the choppy waves. Tomorrow we are going on an ocean cruise to hunt for whales. They feed here from July to October.

Historic Bayfront, Newport, OR

Pier at Newport, OR

It was too early for lunch after eating the huge breakfast, so we headed back to Newport and visited the three tourist attractions, Ripley’s, the Wax Museum, and the Undersea Gardens.

Undersea Gardens

Undersea Gardens, Newport, OR

The Undersea Gardens was actually a once-working ship. A diver spent about fifteen minutes displaying the Garden residents, a Dungeness Crab (pictured in front of Eddy’s face), anemone, starfish, and everyone’s favorite, a blue shark, were among the many species named.

Undersea Gardens, Newport, OR

Wax Museum

From there we crossed the street to the Wax Museum and cavorted with several stars. Some of them would pose up close and personal with you.

Wax Museum, Newport, OR

Others appeared too deadly to approach.

Wax Museum, Newport, OR

None of them scared us, even the guy who popped out of the wall. One old wax guy sat in his room and watched you on television watching him. Randy caught him red-handed.

Wax Museum, Newport, OR

We left these jokers and went over to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!

Wax Museum, Newport, OR

At that point, I spent more time reading and watching videos than I did taking pictures. In fact, I didn’t take one picture so you will have to go and take your own and link them to this article.

Wax Museum, Newport, OR

Tomorrow more explorations. Stay tuned. Where have you been this summer? Link your articles in the comment section. I look forward to hearing from you.

Garden in the Morning

In the Central Valley of California work your garden in the morning like the experts. Woodlake Pride’s Botanical Garden is a working garden. You will find structure parts and plants and structures in various stages of growth here. Gardening is an adventure. But don’t get lazy, or you might get a timeout like the poor fellow in the background.

On June 18th before the temperature reached 250 degrees, Monica Pizura and I headed to the Woodlake Botanical Gardens for a walk to see the blueberries and blackberries. We picked a bucket full of delicious blackberries, thanks to Olga Jimenez.

Then we wandered into the garden off the beaten path. You can see the main path in the background.

Grow Your Own Shade in Three Weeks

Woodlake Pride’s Botanical Garden is like a secret garden. You can see that Puppy Girl loves this little TP-type structure made of bamboo poles covered in morning-glory. This particular structure features three varieties of Mexican/Central American Morning Glory; President Tyler, Heavenly Blue, and Grandpa Ott.

This secret garden is Woodlake Pride’s Botanical Garden. It’s a showcase for unusual species and annuals. You can only go into this part of the garden if the gate is unlocked and Manuel is in it.

Crooked Rows? Try this.

Manuel Jimenez plants thousands of seeds a year. It takes about 40,000 seedlings to grow his garden. High school students and other volunteers help him plant the tiny seedlings.

Others he plants directly into the prepared soil. It would take thousands of hours to plant them on his hands and knees as I do. So he simplifies his life with this nifty hand-held seed planter.

Since my rows are usually (always) imperfect, he suggested that I get a seed planter. Pardon my sunglasses for photobombing my video that explains how it works.

Plant Multiple Crops Together

Here Manuel planted papaya next to peppers, something short that we can’t see here, then a beautiful red canna in the background.

Here’s a better picture of the canna.

Have Fun, Grow What You Love

You’ve noticed that Manuel isn’t stingy with the flowers in his vegetable and fruit gardens. The vivid colors pamper the eyes and make gardening a delight.

I’m not creative with gourds but I have friends who make gorgeous decorative objects from them. These grow along a row that has 2×2 wooden posts with string on both sides of the posts to hold up the vines. You can see the post here better than the gourds.

They are ornamental but hard to spot among the foliage.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this short piece of gardening advice.

If you haven’t visited the garden recently, take a stroll and check out the wonderful changing gardens. My friend, Manuel Jimenez is the Small Farm Advisor (emeritus) for the University of California, Davis. He is a world renown expert on berries, especially blueberries and row crops. His wife, Olga inspired him to create the beautiful gardens we enjoy in Woodlake, CA.

Live the Dream

Today after church my husband said, “I want to go out and see a new U-Pick blueberry farm I saw on Facebook.”

U-Pick Blueberries

Big L Ranch hosts events and has the truck set up for those who want to take photographs.

The Botanical Garden’s Berry Festival is next Saturday, so this was a perfect time.

Off we went to find Big L Ranch at 20899 Avenue 322 in Woodlake, CA. We had so much fun.

Like Avila Barn

We arrived on the second week of their ranch adventure.

One of the owners, Jada Lee, told us that her model is Avila Barn, one of my favorite spots when we go to the coast.

Like Avila Barn, have activities for the family to enjoy while you pick berries.

It was fun, friendly, and homey.

Jada Lee is an artist. She and friends create and sell handmade items. A friend of hers made these. I did not write down her name.

The bowl took dozens of hours. If I had done it, I’d still be working on it from my childhood.

These cups are adorable.

They even have artwork on the bottom.

The ranch has four acres in blueberries and will be open Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00am to 7:00pm through early June.

There is more to do than pick berries. They serve the most delicious blueberry treats like muffins, scones served with homemade vanilla ice cream.

“Did you say ice cream?”

“Yes, Jack, there’s ice cream.”

Jada made unique cabinets from discarded materials.

This is Lee’s first harvest. They are not new to the area but have lived on the ranch for six years. Watch the video to hear how they got started.

Matt Lee teaches at the Tulare County Office of Education Court and Community Schools. It was fun to learn that we knew several people in common, including my friend Elane Geller, who survived the Holocaust and Scott Dakers, who taught with Matt.

My husband knows his cousin, realtor, Robert Lee.

We enjoyed a fabulous hour or two hanging around visiting and eating. You and your kids can have a great time here.

They expect to enlarge and have even more fun activities. You can also schedule events at Big L Ranch. Contact Matt and Jada Lee at biglranch@outlook.com 559-280-2767. We thought they were delightful, and think you will also.

Fascination With Old Buildings

When I visited Hockessin, DE two years ago, the site of the first Catholic Church in Delaware caught my eye as I drove on Lancaster Pike Road. It looked like a pile of rubbish. Old rubbish is so photogenic, so I knew I had to come back before I left town to do a photographic study of it.

However, Pastor Steve Trader from Trinity Community Church saw potential in it that most of us would have overlooked. Today, as you will see, the dreams are coming to life.

The First Church Building

According to one source, in 1772, the Catholic base in the area purchased the 16.5 acres at the order of Father John Lewis, a Jesuit missionary familiar with the area from his mission travels.

According to Deleware Online, the first log chapel on the site was built 12 years later beside a hilltop cemetery that remains there today. Probably only the cemetery remains today, but here are two decrepit buildings that stood on or near the property two years ago.

A mystery writer might use this setting for a scene for a murder, a buried treasure, or some ghostly tale. What would you write about this picture?

For a time, the property housed the only Catholic church within some 100 miles, according to Joe Lake, president of the Hockessin Historical Society. That would have been a trek for people without modern transportation. Local historians doubted if they attended church weekly.

The Old Barn Ruins in 2016

One sign on the property called these piles of crumbling rubbish the “old barn.” The two signs also confused me because I don’t think of barns and churches pairing up in the same building.

Since childhood, I have loved old barns. My grandfather used large machinery and worked out of their garage. It became the family joke that on every trip through rural Indiana, we played the game, “A New Shop for Grandpa.” It kept my brother and me busy and peaceful pointing out the most decayed buildings we could find along the two-lane highways.

Our family particularly loved the advertising painted on the sides like Eat at Joe’s Get Gas, or Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets. This stone barn resembled none of those.

Using my best investigative skills, I noted the candy wrappers and fast food containers on the dirt floor. My weak imagination conjured up pictures of kids playing castle in the pile of rocks. Barnyard animals keeping warm when ten inches of snow pressed against wooden doors and church services were the furthest images from my mind.

St. Mary’s First Catholic Church in Delaware

I wondered how anyone could save this pile of rubbish, but the sign said that it was being reconstructed. At the time, I saw no signs of any construction activity except for the yellow caution tape around the entire project. The tape was no more sturdy than the crumbling walls. Camera in hand, I plowed through the mud and darkening skies, like a reporter onto a big story for the evening news.

‘This would not be the safest place to stand during an earthquake,” I reported to my imaginary audience.

April 2018 The Old Church Takes Shape

It was 4:30, the start of the golden hours for photographers. The cold April wind bent the trees making them groan as I pulled up my hood and picked my way cautiously across the boggy ground to check out the reconstruction site I had loved two years before.

Shadows of large nearby trees spilled across the cemetery and beckoned me to explore the reconstructed building. How could I resist?

The Mystery of the Barn Solved

With my limited imagination, I wondered who would turn a church into a barn? It seemed sacrilegious.

It turned out that the Mundy’s purchased the property from the Diocese as farmland in 1912. The Mundy’s maintained the old barn property as a dairy farm until the 1960s. Bill Mundy kept it as a cattle farm into the 1990s. Locals at that time called the property Mundy’s farm. I don’t know what they called it on Tuesday-Sunday.

Between the 1990s and 2010 property managers neglected the property. In 2010 it was burned and vandalized by teens.

Under New Ownership

In 2018 with a sturdy composition roof and completed walls, this edifice looked like it would withstand the winds and the rains. Trinity Community Church, an interdenominational Christian church that holds its roots in the Assemblies of God, plans a multi-use complex on this 16.5-acre parcel.

The windows and doorways have been shorn up. They look very tiny now compared to the more expansive stone walls.

The recycle police would be proud to see the pile of stones that the builders have used to create the new building. The ongoing pile of rubbish still looks like a daunting work to me. But my only tool is an iPhone. Bancroft Construction Company has a few more resources and talent from which to draw.

As the afternoon shadows deepened, the headless shadows seemed to raise their arms and praise the Lord. Upside down they looked like headless dancers. Either way, the bid me farewell from the 1880s burial place of locals and Irish immigrants killed in nearby powder mill explosions.

The Diocese of Wilmington still owns the resting place for the heroes of the past. But the future looks lively for the Old St. Mary’s Church, Mundy’s Farm and new Trinity Community Church in Hockessin, Delaware.

Want some advice about alligators?

#3 Orland0 Florida

Don’t come to me. I’m visiting here in Orlando, Florida with my California neighbors, Carmen and Taliah and friend, Janice from Tennessee. And we’ve come to Gatorland to see and learn about alligators.

Do you love Strange Inheritances? This is not Gatorama, but Gatorland is farther north, 18 miles or 30 minutes from Orlando, also a family-owned business.

When to Visit Gatorland

I’ve been to Florida in August, and I don’t recommend it. However, going to Gatorland in March is perfect. There weren’t many mosquitos. The day I wore body lotion, the bugs loved me, but as long as I didn’t smell, the bugs didn’t bother me.

It’s warm in the sun, but walking through the covered pathways is pleasant even in mid-afternoon.

The covers provided some shade to the alligators as well. Unlike dolphins, which you will read about in another post, alligators don’t have sensitive skin. Their black coloring makes them almost invisible in the water.

The next gator would have been tricky to see if he had been cruising underwater.

Gatorland groups gators by age and color. The young ones are first in line.

Bigger than Life

Towards the rear of the walkway lives the Brutus of Gatorland, Chester. Just as I was closing in to take pictures of Chester, Carmen swooped in and shooed us down to the Gator wrestling show, which was well worth the rush. Poor Carmen, she had to mother all of us to keep us on track to see everything.

When we came back, Chester was pooped. Here is Diego Centeno’s YouTube video of Chester.

Real Gator Wrestling

Sure, it’s easy to wrestle a gator if you watch the actor. No sweat. He chose a volunteer to come out on the sandy platform with him to pick out a lazy gator. The youngster refused. So the youngster pointed to a swimming alligator instead of the sleepy sunbathing gators.

Mr. Gator Wrestler grabbed that little gator by the tail and dragged it ashore. Kicking the other gators aside, he began his show.

Miss Gator seemed to be dragging her feet a bit. She was not the shining star that Nicholas is. You’ll see him in another post.

The G-Wrestler asked the crowd to name the most dangerous part of the alligator. Some poor soul shouted, “Tail.”

Probably the respondent was a plant in the audience. Either that or he didn’t watch Mr. G-Wrestler drag Miss Gator out onto the sandy stage.

Mr. G-Wrestler proceeded to show us how easy it was to lose fingers and hands in the G-wrestling business. He somehow pried open the gator’s mouth and withdrew as it snapped shut.

It doesn’t take much pressure to hold a gator’s mouth shut. The trainer held it with his chin. I hope the gator smelled good.

Other Animals that Repulse and Intrigue

The next actors thrilled the audience by letting volunteers participate, usually with their eyes closed at first. The rest of the audience responded with appropriate scared noises, which didn’t seem to bother the volunteers. They had probably checked out someone’s blog post before going to Gatorland and knew what was coming.

You can’t see what he’s putting on her hand. It’s a tarantula.

Taliah’s favorite, though not venomous, was the snake. We saw the same snake curled up in his house, and we could have crawled into the house with him if we had chosen to do so.

White Alligators Are Rare

Three of only twelve leucistic gators exist here at Gatorland. Apparently, they are not personable.

It was hard to get up close, so I let Taliah take the first shot at him. She got a little annoyed with me taking pictures of her taking pictures, but it was fun watching her quickly manipulate the image with her thumbs before saving it.

Up close, he didn’t look too scary since there was a glass wall between us and he had his eyes closed.

Birds Kicked at the Gators

A gator could snap a bird’s leg off in a second, but that fact did not seem to worry any of these feathery creatures. We saw one bird kick her spindly leg at a gator swimming towards her with his mouth open. The gator turned and swam away. That was not the response I expected.

This mutton-headed bird dared to bark orders to the alligators on the feeding deck. Don’t you love its geometric shadow?

Gatorland rated lower than Bloggy Creek but higher than most of the Animal Kingdom on the Entertainment Scale.